The SpaceX Starship lifts off from Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on November 19, 2024, for the Starship Flight 6 test. Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty ImagesSpaceX launched the sixth test flight of its Starship rocket on Tuesday, as the company looks to keep up momentum of the mammoth vehicle’s development.The rocket took off from SpaceX’s private “Starbase” facility near Brownsville, Texas. There were not any people on board the Starship flight.Starship reached space and traveled halfway around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.SpaceX had aimed to return the rocket’s “Super Heavy” booster after it separated from Starship and land it on the arms of the company’s launch tower. But SpaceX said during its webcast that the booster did not clear its “commit criteria” needed for the catch attempt, so the booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico instead.As with each previous test flight, SpaceX is pushing development further by testing additional Starship capabilities, including this time reigniting an engine while in space and testing new elements of its heatshield.Additionally, the evening launch time means that this was the first time Starship made a daylight splashdown in the Indian Ocean.U.S. President-elect Donald Trump looks on as Elon Musk explains the operations of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in a control room on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesSpaceX typically has a cadre of VIPs to view Starship launches and, with CEO Elon Musk’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, the sixth flight wa no different. Trump attended the launch on Tuesday, similar to when he came to watch SpaceX’s first astronaut launch in Florida in 2020 during his first administration.Pushing the envelopeSpaceX catches the first-stage “Super Heavy” booster of its Starship rocket on Oct. 13, 2024.Sergio Flores | Afp | Getty ImagesSpaceX has flown the full Starship rocket system on six spaceflight tests so far since April 2023, at a steadily increasing cadence. Its previous launch last month featured the dramatic first catch of the rocket’s more than 20-story tall booster.After the successful fifth flight, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that SpaceX was authorized to move forward with the sixth flight.But, as with its previous test flights, the fifth launch was not without incidents. SpaceX mana …
